The troublesome twosome

[JBun]

I'm so sorry that you lost your rabbit and that your other one isn't doing well. Don't beat yourself up. Regular worming really isn't a normal thing to do with rabbits, and isn't even usually recommended. Rabbits can be affected be certain worms, but very often it doesn't become an issue, so that's why regular worming isn't usually done like it is with cats and dogs, but is instead just treated if evidence of a parasite burden is present. Is there a reason your vet believes that it is worms that affected both of your rabbits? Was evidence found in a fecal test or other test?

I'm glad Kick is improving and hope that he will be back home with you soon.

 

[geekgirl101]

They said that the gradual weight loss despite eating loads and then the sudden deterioration in health was typical of parasitic infection. They may have done other tests while she was in the hospital to determine the cause of her sudden illness and weight loss. She was extremely cold and thin when we brought her in and her breathing and pulse dropped that we thought she died in the car just short of arriving, but luckily she bopped her head up as we pulled up outside the hospital and tried to put up a bit of a fight when they took her out of the blanket but was more like "get of me... urgh... whatever" What treatment they've given her has worked a miracle in bringing her round. She's been on medication to clean her gut out and she's responded well to fluids and antibiotics. They said she's still very thin but she's eating and drinking healthily and is more active than when she first went in and was even moving around this afternoon. We can bring her home tomorrow since they want to keep an eye on her for a further 24 hours with her having gone downhill so quickly, but we'll need to clean out all her toys and living quarters first with bleach to kill off any remaining parasites that may be lurking around.

We've come to the conclusion that the new kittens next door have now grown to an age where they're capable of scaling fences and exploring their surroundings. It's highly likely they've picked up the parasites from another garden and transmitted them to ours and then the bunnies got infected. I've informed the neighbours that the bunnies had worm burden and that they may want to treat their cats since they've made frequent visits to our bunnies and may now be contagious themselves.

We're ever so sad to have lost a rabbit to those wretched parasites, and such a loving and gentle rabbit too. We were so certain they were both to live long and happy lives that we spent much money on treatment plans and spathing, never crossed our mind that they would catch worms and that they would kill them. Kick will be getting lots of unwanted attention from us for the next few weeks until we're certain she's no longer contagious and then we can take her on a bunny date at the local sanctuary to find her a new friend to replace Lara.

 

[Chrisdoc]

Glad to hear she´s doing so well and recovering quickly and she´ll be back to normal in no time with lots of love and care from you.

I look forward to hearing news once she´s well and you start looking for a new friend for her.

 

[ladysown]

i wanted to delete this post

 

[geekgirl101]

Kick is back home with us, and she's not a happy bunny. She's shying away from being touched on top of her usual "I don't WANT to be petted!" attitude. She still seems a little weak, wasn't able to make it up the stairs so I carried her up to where her indoor hutch is. Straight away went for the water, then she noticed the carrot/hay box. We've given her access to the living room and hall/landing only and will put her carrier with hay in the living room plus an extra toilet and water bowl in here so if she does make it downstairs and can't get back up again then she's got a source of food and water down here. I'll probably sleep downstairs with her too for a few days to try to gain her confidence in humans again, especially if I got to administer medication for the next 6 days! Good thing I learned how to make a bunny burrito from youtube.

 

[geekgirl101]

I feel so sorry for Kick. Even though she saw her sister lying dead in her run a few days ago she is still looking around for her and leaving half the food for her. She's quite willing to eat all the bunny snacks we have to offer but she's eating only the best half the greens and then waiting around for Lara to come for the rest. Wish I could tell her that Lara isn't coming back so that she doesn't keep looking so unhappy and leaving half the food.

 

[Chrisdoc]

That is heartbreaking, the poor little love, I hope she finally realises she´s not coming back and takes comfort from you, I´m sure she´ll get loads of love and as many hugs as she´ll let you give here. Bunnies are just so smart and it´s awful to see them miss their companion so much.

 

[geekgirl101]

She's stopping leaving food for her sister and now it looks like she's going through bunny depression. She hates hugs, isn't too into being petted, but she was lying out like a roll of bunny-shaped carpet and we were able to gently pet her and she wouldn't flinch. She's still eating though, especially treats. We got her ball upstairs filled with celery crunchies to play with, she had a little go at it munching on the bits that fell out and then went back into her hutch and flopped out with her head against the ground. I'll try not to leave it too long to find her a mate but I don't want to risk her infecting a sanctuary. Is a month too long?

 

[geekgirl101]

Well, I thought she gave up on leaving food for her sister. I gave the kitchen and dining room a mop over with some bleach so she can now explore those rooms too. She saw her reflection in the glass doors and thought it was Lara and left half of her chunk of sharon fruit and sat staring at the door. She's very angry with me picking her up in a blanket and shoving medicine down her mouth twice a day but I can't think of any other way of getting it down her. The paste I could put in a piece of fruit but the other medicines are far too watery, unless I make some bunny cookies and soak them in the medicine, but I suspect she won't like the taste and is far easier to force medicine down her throat than force her to eat a medicine-soaked cookie. I guess she'll have to put up with it for now for the next 5 days until it's all used up, and then it's a once every 3 month treatment for precaution with the paste hidden inside a treat. In the meantime we're friends again since I've been giving her lots of treats to try and win back her friendship as well as put a bit of meat on her bones since she's still very thin.

 

[geekgirl101]

Kick is one peed-off bunny today. She was happy with me earlier today until I bundled her up and took her to the vet for a checkup. They're satisfied she's being a typical angry bunny and has put on 28 grams since they last saw her. We're to cut down the veggies so she doesn't develop gastric problems and can put on the weight slowly through her regular diet. She's now very cross with me, bit my hand earlier when trying to hold her still while the vet checked her heart beat and tummy. I'm glad to hear she's doing great and won't need any more treatment, less stress on her being poked around by strange humans. We'll take her to the sanctuary at the weekend to find her a boyfriend.

 

[JBun]

Well, she's certainly feeling much better if she's biting. I'm glad to hear she has perked up and is doing well. Hopefully you will find a good companion for her at the sanctuary.

If you don't mind me asking, did the vet tell you what parasite they were treating for and what medication did they give you for it?

 

[geekgirl101]

Ah, no they didn't say specifically but it was most definitely for worms as the paste medication says it's for worming.

 

[geekgirl101]

We have a new bunny in town... photos soon to come once it's more lighter since it's now pretty dark.

Archie is a golden brown/white mini lop, he's 2 years old so he's a little younger than Kick (on another note we've learned Kick is also a mini lop.) On their first bunny date Kick and Archie seemed to take to each other quite well. Kick is still an independent bunny so she's not so into having a man boss her around, but there was no quarreling between them so we were quite happy to take the pair back home together. He looks very much like Lara did with the flatter face, and he outstretches in the same way she used to.

Archie was neutered only last month so he still has a lot of testosterone in his system, and Kick isn't so happy in the constant humping every few minutes... especially when he aims for her face! No, that's not a carrot.

So far he's behaving like a typical new bunny - curious about his surroundings and marking everything as his, but making a bolt for it when we come near him. We're hoping with Kicks' example of being around us that he too will settle down with our presence and let us pet him eventually.

We've had a further look into Kick's medication which ends today. One is a worming paste, one is an antibiotic, and one is to treat GI Stasis.

 

[geekgirl101]

Considering renaming Archie to Snuffles. He grunts around Kick then pushes her out of the way and flops down right next to her, followed by a little sneeze. Doesn't do it too often so not really too concerned, but I think that it would still be an idea to have him registered with the local vet and have them do a quick health check. He seems quite ok, he's very big and fluffy (compared to Kick who is all skin and fur and very little meat on her bones), he's got giant brown eyes that look clean, and he has an appetite for carrot-coated boxes... hence why I'm up so late because the darned thing is keeping me awake!

 

[Chrisdoc]

Great news and I´m so glad you took the plunge so quickly, I think Kick will really appreciate it. I like Archie but Snuffles is cute as well, I´d have to see a photo to decide lol.

Glad they´re getting on so far and hope they settle in together and become two very happy and loved up bunnies :wink

 

[geekgirl101]

Archie's doing very well. He's a bit overweight and his behaviour indicates that his last owner must've kept him in a small back yard hutch for over 2 years and ignored him because he wasn't responding well to human interaction and is still extremely jumpy and not very active. He's also not a big eater and is eating hay in very small amounts like it's new to him which makes me think his last owner probably only fed him museli or pellets and didn't provide him with hay for eating. Today he's gotten as far as letting us pet him and lots of sniffing hands, and while he's still slow going down stairs he was doing bunny 500's earlier this afternoon from the kitchen to the living room before taking a breather on the cold tiles in front of the fire place.

Anyways, here's a picture of the little furball.

 

[geekgirl101]

Life's been good for Archie and Kick. Every morning it's bunny 500's, they get a regular snack of something green when I have lunch and dinner, they lounge around upstairs most the time and hop down for hay nibbles and box mutilation, I've received and given kisses, and today I watched them grooming each other. He's now top of the pecking order for grooms, but when it's food time Kick is her greedy self in forcing herself in the way and wolfing down the best bits before Archie gets a sniff, and she steals his treats too.

I've learned Archie isn't so much into fruit as Kick is. Kick has happily munched on a little bit of mango today but Archie wasn't so keen on it. He doesn't like persimmon either whilst Kick will do her usual snatch and run with her piece. In a way I'm kind of glad he's not so excited about fruit as she is as there's less chances of him getting more porky than he already is.

The other day I let them out for an hour to play in the outdoor hutch. Archie took some time to get brave enough to explore but once he did he had fun running around in and out of the tunnel and buried himself in the bed chamber full of hay. I want to give them more time in there but I don't want them getting too cold, so I ordered a snugglesafe heat pad to put in the bed chamber so if they get chilly they can snuggle up warm to it. I'm thinking of keeping them outside during the day and inside during the night until the really cold weather sets in, although we may have moved house by then to one that has a brick shed that we can modify and put their hutch in there and the run outside with the tube connecting them together. Means we can also tear up the existing plants to rabbit-friendly ones too so that if we let them run around they won't make themselves ill if they have a nibble.

 

[Chrisdoc]

He´s adorable, I just love him and I am so glad they are getting on together.

He doesn´t look too porky, maybe try cutting back on some of his pellets and seeing if he´ll eat more hay if he doesn´t have anything else to eat. You´re right, maybe better if he´s not keen on the fruit and if he likes his veggies then you can replace some of the pellets with those.

Sounds good if you can house them somewhere safe and warm in the winter, just need to get them growing their winter coats.

I would love to see some pics of them together and once again, congratulations on the new addition :adorable:

 

[geekgirl101]

Yeah, he's eating more of everything else and less of his hay. It's something I'll have to work on with him to get him into eating hay, should be able to fix that over the next few days if the weather isn't terrible as then he'll be in hutch/run where all to eat is hay.

He did something absolutely cute the other day and I wish I had a camera at the time. He suddenly flopped onto his side really quickly then rolled to his back, lifted a paw in the air, and was washing it. It looked so cute!

 

[geekgirl101]

ok, here's more piccies as promised.